Friday, January 16, 2009

Milky Way Mousse

I have been having some major computer problems lately, and so have not updated my blog in a long time. Sorry! I do have plenty of new recipes to share with you, I just need to get my computer up and running, or else I risk spending hours typing recipes only to find that my entries have mysteriously been deleted. So frustrating! I called all the help lines I could find, but unfortunately no one could offer me any help. I think I am going to have to reinstall Windows to fix the problem. It will take me several days to save all my files, install Vista, and then reinstall all my other software. I am hoping to be back online by next weekend. I may have intermittent access to a school computer, but there are no guarantees.

Anyway, this mousse is an adaptation of a Milky Way Tart recipe that was in Bon Appetit magazine a few years ago. It is basically the same tart, but deconstructed. This recipe calls for caramel, and I went ahead and made it from scratch, but you can buy store bought caramel ice cream topping and that will work just as well.

To make filling: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream to simmer in a small saucepan. Pour hot cream over chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until melted and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours.

To make caramel: Combine cream and butter in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until butter melts; remove from heat. Combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until color is deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes. Immediately add hot cream-butter mixture (mixture will bubble vigorously). Remove from heat and stir until any caramel bits dissolve. Transfer caramel to small bowl and chill until slightly firm, stirring often, about 40 minutes.

To finish the filling: Using an electric mixture, beat chilled chocolate-cream mixture until peaks form.

To assemble: Spoon layers of filling and caramel into dessert glasses. Chill at least 2 hours. Just before serving, top each mousse with broken graham cracker pieces.

If you decide to use already made caramel, this dessert is very easy to do. You really just have to melt the chocolate and whip the cream, and then assemble.